Ruston Kelly Announces Engagement to Tia Cubelic
Country music artist Ruston Kelly has officially become engaged to his girlfriend, Tia Cubelic. The 37-year-old singer-songwriter, known for his fourth album Pale, Through the Window released in September, made the exciting announcement on social media.
The proposal took place at the historic Nashville venue, Grand Ole Opry. Sharing a series of photos taken right after Tia said “yes,” Ruston posted on Instagram: “backstage at the @opry last month me and my best bud became best buds who are getting MARRIED.”
A video from his performance on September 24 at the Opry shows the musician sharing the news with the audience. In the clip, he begins by finishing an anecdote and then says, “The most important thing, I think, that happened to me right after that was meeting my now-partner, and I would say that she’s my girlfriend but she’s not because I just proposed to her backstage.”
The crowd erupted in cheers and screams as he continued, “Her family’s here, my family’s here. And right under a picture of Johnny Cash, I had to pop the question.”
A press release for Ruston’s latest album highlights how his new romance influenced the creation of the tracks. It states, “His new fiancée was a driving force behind each and every track. Across 13 tracks, Kelly captures a season of radical change, newfound joy, and hard-won peace, pairing deeply personal lyricism with an expansive sonic landscape.”
The album was produced by longtime collaborator Jarrad K and recorded live with his touring band at Chateau Noir. It features shimmering synths, sweeping pedal steel (played by his father Tim “TK” Kelly), emo-tinged guitars, and Kelly’s raw vocal intensity.
“We couldn’t be more excited to share this news!” the couple said in a statement shared with People.
Ruston previously told the outlet in September, “To me, I just write about whatever’s going on in my life, and I definitely am writing from a place of gratitude and love and feeling pretty solid.”
Tia, also a musician, plays violin on the track House in the Country and provided background vocals for several songs. The couple met while vacationing in South Carolina in June 2024 and later discovered they both lived in Nashville.
Ruston and Kacey Musgraves were married in October 2017, but they announced their breakup in July 2020. In 2021, Kacey told Rolling Stone that the marriage “just simply didn’t work out.” She added, “It’s nothing more than that. It’s two people who love each other so much, but for so many reasons, it just didn’t work. I mean, seasons change. Our season changed.”
She reflected on marriage, saying, “Part of me questions marriage as a whole, in general. I mean, I was open to it when it came into my life. I embraced it. I just have to tell myself I was brave to follow through on those feelings.”
Kacey cited Goldie Hawn and Kurt Russell as an example of a long-term relationship that “did something right” in love. She noted, “I think I live best by myself. I think it’s OK to realize that.”
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